Website of Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox offline

This photo illustration shows a man looking at the bitcoin exchange website of MtGox in Tokyo on February 25, 2014.

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TOKYO (AP) - The website of major Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox is offline amid reports it suffered a debilitating theft of the virtual currency.

The URL of the Tokyo-based outfit returns a blank page Tuesday.

Separately, several Bitcoin exchanges released a joint statement saying they are working to reassure customers that funds under their control are held securely.

The statement says Mt. Gox should not be considered a reflection of the value of Bitcoin or the digital currency industry.

A "crisis strategy" report shared widely online that purports to be an internal Mt. Gox document says more than 740,000 Bitcoins are missing from the exchange, which froze withdrawals earlier this month.